ONE STREET OVER by Kimberly Biller

5 out of 5 stars

Novella, Family drama

Originally posted on Amazon HERE ON 28 September 2013

I loved this even more than its sequel, The Tree in the Front Yard. The facility on Amazon to self-publish for Kindle means that all sorts of stuff is now on sale - the very good, the good, the mediocre, the not-so-good and the tomes that makes you say 'shouldn't there be some sort of quality control?' Happily, it also gives you the opportunity to read really excellent books like this, for the price of about a quarter of a cup of coffee!

Kimberly Biller is a better writer than I think she realises. One Street Over, which will only take you about an hour or so to read, is funny, touching, clever, charming - I just loved it. You have to read it in a southern US accent, by the way! Ms Biller has the knack of making you see exactly what a character is like, without describing him or her; that's talent. It doesn't follow 'the rules', as laid down by creative writing courses, etc, but it doesn't need to because it WORKS. When you can write so that the scenes and characters come alive, you don't need to follow anyone else's rules! Some of the phrases made me laugh out loud (instead of Sissy's mum telling her off for being cheeky, she tells her off for 'sass mouthin') - and I LOVED the bit about the family's visits to the church.

Buy it. It's fab.

The tree in the Front Yard by the same author is reviewed HERE

THE TREE IN THE FRONT YARD by Kimberly Biller

4 out of 5 stars

Novella, Family drama

Originally posted on Amazon HERE on 26 July 2013

I believe that writing well is something you can either do or you can't do; I think being able to engage a reader is a talent you're born with, and cannot be taught or learned. Yes, you can improve upon what you have, but you need to be a natural storyteller to begin with. Kimberly Biller is one of these.

I love books (a novella, in this case) that teach me about something of which I have no knowledge. This story is about an eleven year old girl living in a dirt-poor southern US state, and has no intriguing plot or amazing twists, it's just a perfect snapshot of life. The whole story came alive in my mind, and I could picture it all. Right from the first page I was reading it in a southern US accent (happily, not out loud!). It's worth 77p of anyone's money and certainly an hour of your time!

I hope that at some point Ms Biller will write something longer, in the same vein - she certainly should!

One Street Over by the same author is reviewed HERE